Kentucky fans will see what Daimion Collins is made of this season

Kentucky’s 6-foot-9 pogo stick, Daimion Collins, was arguably the team’s most improved player in the Bahamas from last season’s squad. Potential breakout star Jacob Toppin has a claim for that title, too, while freshman Adou Theiro and Illinois State transfer Antonio Reeves were the most surprising on the program’s summer foreign trip. Still, Collins looked like a completely different player as he enters year two in Lexington.

During Kentucky’s Big Blue Bahamas Tour, Collins averaged 10.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in 20.5 minutes per game across four contests. He shot 17-28 (60.7 percent) from the field overall and 6-7 from the free throw line. While he failed to connect a 3-pointer (0-5), he showcased plenty of one-dribble pull-up jumpers and the ability to finish at the rim through contact.

He’s still the same ole high-flying Collins everyone knows from last year, but there’s much more to his offensive arsenal now.

“Daimion isn’t Daimion without that,” Kentucky point guard Sahvir Wheeler said of Collins’s athleticism during SEC Media Day earlier this week. “You have to bring that to the table, so it starts with that. It also spreads out to him being able to guard one through five, him being able to shoot the ball, make shots, make free throws, and, like I said, defend, and him being more confident. A year under you, a year of development, just him being more confident in who he is as a person, as a player, has made a big difference and you can see the big strides on the court when it’s time to play.”

Collins went from being glued to the bench by the end of his freshman season in 2021-22 to turning heads and making SportsCenter Top 10 plays multiple times per game just a few months later in August. His body has undergone a significant transformation throughout the offseason, even if he’s still barely filling out his tight undershirts. But a change in his diet and workout routine aren’t the reasons he’s taking a leap.

“It’s confidence, it’s confidence, it’s all confidence,” Wheeler added. “Whether you want to say it’s his body or his skill, it’s confidence. He was a freshman last year playing behind the National Player of the Year, and it was the first time — coming into the SEC is not just a regular conference, it’s one of the best conferences in basketball in the country. So him having that year of just growing, of maturing, of knowing who he is and what he can be and how he can affect the game, all that takes a part of how he is today, his maturity, and you’re starting to definitely see what he can be for sure.”

What Collins can be is a first-round NBA Draft pick, which is what he was projected as before he even committed to head coach John Calipari nearly two years ago. He was a consensus five-star prospect out of high school with unlocked potential. Kentucky fans saw several glimpses of that potential down in the Bahamas and will have another chance to do so during Saturday’s Blue-White Scrimmage in Pikeville, KY.

The Big Blue Nation should count itself lucky that’s the case, too. After a freshman season in which he struggled to find consistent playing time, Collins ultimately decided to stick it out and see what the future holds in Lexington.

“Last year was hard for (Collins), but I’m glad that didn’t get in his way of still wanting to pursue and still keep on wanting to get better,” Kentucky junior forward Lance Ware said at SEC Media Day. “Because for a lot of people that can kinda kill them when you come into college and you don’t get what you expect. So that just shows he’s resilient and a hard worker.”